Seasoned actor Vihaan Samat, who is in the spotlight for his role as Yuvaraj Digvijay “Diggy” Singh in Netflix’s The Royals, had to undergo an intense prep to play the young king in the series alongside Ishaan Khatter. While his Clark Kent trope in the series added a comic flair, Vihaan isn’t that bad of a cook in real life! IYKYK. In an exclusive chat with Mid-day, Vihaan gets candid about the challenges he endured to play Diggy, his journey in showbiz, and more.
Vihaan Samat on playing ‘Diggy’ in The Royals
In the series, Vihaan plays an heir who is trapped in royalty and wishes to expand his horizons. To do so, he secretly participates in a knock-off MasterChef competition to display his culinary skills. His disguise? The classic Clark Kent trope – a pair of glasses to make him look like a nerd. Vihaan explains he always wanted to do something of that sort. But what about his cooking skills? He maintains “not the best,” but did prepare meals for himself during college days.
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“I love cooking and I love good food. It used to be chicken and rice, or like pasta. I never actually even dared to touch the dals, masalas, and the sabjis that I used to have at home. Because it would never be as good, and I would just ruin it. So I drew from American ingredients and just cooked whatever I could. I used to make my milkshakes with the berries, and I learned how to poach eggs. I used to make these amazing baked potatoes with just the right amount of spice, and sweet and citrusy,” adds Vihaan.
Vihaan on Call Me Bae season 2
By the end of Call Me Bae season 1, fans of the Ananya Panday-fronted series came up with a theory that Vihaan, who plays her husband, has the hots for her brother, essayed by Shiv Masand. When asked about the same, Vihaan shared, “I don`t understand these theories. They’re definitely about me and Shiv’s character having a relationship. It`s very random, and I think all of us are a bit confused. And we find it a bit funny. Whatever draws in the views, I guess. But I think Agastya is a very straight man. I would assume he`s the kind of character that would assert his masculinity in a lot of ways, probably (laughs).”
Vihaan on his journey into showbiz
Vihan admits that his story hasn’t been the typical struggling type, where he didn’t have to wonder where his next meal came from, but he asserts that he’s faced a fair share of challenges because he got into showbiz sans any connections. “Every single thing I have gotten so far has only been through auditions. I don`t think someone said, ‘Hey, let`s take him without testing him first.’ So I take great pride in my audition skills. Of course, my dreams and aspirations are huge, and I won`t stop for a very long time. I intend to be here for another 50 years at least,” Vihaan concludes.
